Sibling stars of TLC's "All American Muslim": Lowe's pulled its advertising after pressure from conservative groups, but critics wonder what's so threatening about the reality show. TLC

December 12, 2011

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Lowe's is taking heat for pulling its advertising from the TLC reality series All-American Muslim, about the daily lives of several Muslim families in Michigan. Conservative groups complained to Lowe's and other advertisers that the show is pro-Muslim and anti-American "propaganda." But now the home-improvement retail giant is under fire from the other side. A California state senator is threatening legal action, music mogul Russell Simmons calls the move "Islamophobic," and furious consumers are expressing outrage on Lowe's Facebook page. The company says it's sorry people are upset. Was Lowe's wrong to pull its ads?

No. The outrage is ridiculous: The critics are hypocrites, says Bobby Eberle at GOP USA. When a company supports a radical or controversial TV show, it earns praise "in the name of 'inclusion.'" If it takes a stand for traditional values, it gets "attacked, ostracized, and targeted." Lowe's deserves "the freedom to advertise whenever and wherever it wants," especially if it doesn't want to be associated with a controversial show."It's still a free country, isn't it?"

Lowe's might regret this:All-American Muslim is simply a reality show "about a bunch of Muslim people in Michigan," says Jill Filipovic at Feministe. One talks about his love of football. Another has ambitions of opening a night club. These are ordinary people who "have interests and hobbies and friendships and lives that do not in fact involve being terrorists." The show wasn't controversial until Lowe's — and McDonald's, and Walmart, and a half dozen others — yanked their commercials. Now they're facing a backlash they could have avoided."Ads pulled from All-American Muslim"